by Nathaniel R
Jaylin Webb and Banks Repata in ARMAGEDDON TIME
Though Hollywood blockbuster lovers are waiting until a week from today for their holiday movie season to kick off with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever the rest of us have plenty to enjoy in theaters right now since "Prestige Movie Season" began a few weeks back. If you haven't caught up with The Banshees of Inisherin, TÁR, Till, Triangle of Sadness, and The Woman King yet, this is the weekend to do it since everything (well, maybe not Banshees) will lose screens to the Wakandans on November 11th. Tick tock tick tock. Get to the movies!
There's other even newer stuff this weekend, too...
Armageddon Time
After just one week in limited release, James Gray's memoirish film about his time as a 12 year old Jewish kid in Queens is in wide release. Here he is called Paul and played by Banks Repeta (The Black Phone, Devil All The Time). This one has proved a bit more divisive, and the sticking point seems to be its depiction of 1980s era racial politics. As Elisa wrote in her review...
The exploration of racism and the peripheral presence of the Trump family (Jessica Chastain plays Maryanne Trump) both feel too calculated and an easy way out for Gray, only half-willing to embrace the real contradictions inside his family and his upbringing.
The narrative-driver (if not the full story, really, since it's a family portrait) is about Paul's friendship with Johnny (Jaylin Webb, film debut) at school and how strongly his parents (Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong) react once the two boys get in trouble at school. Personally speaking, and of course I'm speaking as someone who is neither Black nor Jewish, I think it's much more about the intergenerational Jewish experience, and being a daydreaming confused 12 year old in a world of inequality, racism, and complicity, than it is really about interracial politics. I agree that it's two main threads don't always work perfectly together, but it's interestingly thorny nonetheless, especially in its more explosive moments between Paul and his parents. Anthony Hopkins is great (he's on such a roll of late) as the mediating grandfather and Jessica Chastain even pops up for a one scene role as T***p's mother, Maryanne, who gives a grotesque speech at Paul's school.
The Estate
In this new comedy, Toni Collette and Anna Faris are out for the money of their dying aunt (none other than Kathleen Turner!). Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, and David Duchovny costar.
Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams
Booked and busy Luca Guadagnino found time to squeeze in a documentary feature inbetween his many feature, commercial, and television projects. (His personal assistant must be exhausted!) This is a portrait of Salvatore Ferragamo who became Hollywood's favourite shoemaker in the silent era before returning to Italy to launch his luxury brand.
Soft & Quiet
An alt-right themed continuous shot thriller. Review in a bit.
Something in the Dirt
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson (writer/director/actors) have another indie sci-fi film for those of you who were fans of their previous outings like The Endless (2017) or Synchronic (2020). In this one they play two guys attempting to document supernatural activities in their apartment building.
Utama
Bolivia's Oscar submission is now in theaters from Kino Lorber. [OUR REVIEW]
You Resemble Me
This coproduction from Egypt, France, and the US is a feature debut from reporter turned director Dina Amer. It's a fact-based story about two Egyptian sisters in Paris and the "roots of radicalization". After doing the festival circuit in 2021 to strong reviews, it's finally come round to theaters.
ALSO OPENING FOR BRIEF THEATRICAL RUNS
Mexico's Best International Feature Film hopeful Bardo (Netflix December 16th) from Oscar-favourite Alejandro González Iñárritu, the family friendly space exploration documentary Good Night Oppy (Amazon, November 23rd), and Cartoon Saloon's latest My Father's Dragon (Netflix, November 11th) all hit theaters before heading to their streaming homes.